The Relationship Between Safety Attitudes and Occupational Accidents

Abstract

This research provides empirical evidence on the relationships between employee attitudes to safety issues and accident indicators in a Spanish context. The research attempts to review to what degree those attitudes reflect a collective, or shared, climate for safety within a number of organizations. Data were gathered from workers in a number of industries in Valencia (Spain) by questionnaire. A total of 1,234 valid questionnaires were completed and formed the basis for subsequent analysis. Analysis of the attitude dimensions found a similar structure to that found in previous research in other countries, as well as identifying those dimensions shared within groups, more likely to represent safety climate. In terms of explaining accidents, the data showed that variables dealing with the work environment, in particular the presence of Workplace Hazards, and the individual’s approach to working safely were directly related to accident outcomes, explaining 19% of the variability in accident history. These variables were, in turn, related to the assessment of safety climate, suggesting that individual attitude variables act as a mediator between climate and accident occurrence. This paper represents one of the few attempts to explain the influence of safety climate, work environment, and individual attitudes on accident outcomes in the Spanish environment, using a theoretical model developed and validated in another European context.